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Best Multiplayer Game

To many game players, games that lack multiplayer features are utterly irrelevant. Their fellow players offer a far better challenge than any AI could, and multiplayer features are necessary to most any game's long-term replay value. Meanwhile, support for online multiplayer features--in console, handheld, and PC games--is now more prevalent than ever, making this style of gaming extremely competitive. The following five finalists for GameSpot's award for best multiplayer game of 2005 are all excellent games in their own right, but they're also either extremely polished or simply unlike anything else available.

Battlefield 2
Developer: Digital Illusions
Platform: PC
ESRB: Teen
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Large-scale military carnage ensues in the spectacular sequel to one of the best multiplayer shooters in years. Land, sea, and air battles rage all around in Battlefield 2, and you get to be a major participant in whichever parts of it you feel like, while coordinating large teams has never been easier.

Guild Wars
Developer: ArenaNet
Platform: PC
ESRB: Teen
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This unique action role-playing game features dozens of hours' worth of great cooperative missions as well as a fully featured competitive mode, letting teams of players clash in worldwide competitions.

Mario Kart DS
Developer: Nintendo
Platform: DS
ESRB: Everyone
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The first online-enabled Nintendo DS game is tremendously fun when played against a group of friends or strangers. Just watch out for those double-blasted blue shells when you're in the lead.

Perfect Dark Zero
Developer: Rare Ltd.
Platform: Xbox 360
ESRB: Mature
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This fully featured first-person shooter for the Xbox 360 offers something for everyone in terms of multiplayer, from its excellent online-enabled cooperative mode to a variety of original and compelling competitive modes.

Project Gotham Racing 3
Developer: Bizarre Creations
Platform: Xbox 360
ESRB: Everyone 10+
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Your single-player career and online competition seamlessly blend together in this stunning racing game, which even features a TV-watching mode that highlights the latest accomplishments of the best racers from around the world.
And the winner is... Battlefield 2
Platform: PC
ESRB: Teen
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What's the beauty of Battlefield 2? It's that you can kill (and die) in countless, glorious ways. Shoot your opponents. Run them over...with an F-15. Pound them with artillery. Hit them with several tanks and armored personnel carriers. Blow them up with C4...or grenades. You like guns? There are assault rifles, sniper rifles, heavy machine guns, and more. Knife them, even. It's all good. But there's more to Battlefield 2 than carnage. The game's built-in squad mechanic reinforces working together in small groups. And when everyone is clicking and working together, it's a transcendent experience. All this comes together to create the wildest, most intense, and best multiplayer experience of the year.